Cult of Yhwach
The Cult of Yhwach was the unofficial state religion of the Wandenreich-aligned . It revered the Father of Quincy, , as the God, Protector, and Divine Saviour of Quincykind. Followers of the Cult believed that the will of Yhwach was everlasting and everything done for him ensured the prosperity of Quincykind. The Cult is led by an individual called the Minister Apostle, who is oath bound to devote their very life in spreading the supposed will of Yhwach to every realm imaginable. History Origins The Cult of Yhwach found its origins in the various villages protected by a young Yhwach. These villages saw the young Yhwach as a divine man sent from the Heavens to protect them from . Worship of Yhwach intensified when one of these villagers named Leonardo Fromm was made into a . Awed by the glorious Yhwach and the divine powers he exhibited, Leonardo took it upon himself to reach out to the masses and preach to anyone who would listen about the God walking amongst them. The faith began to spread between the remote villages of the developing Quincy lands and when they started to immigrate to the towns and cities, the teachings of the Cult came with them as well. Soon enough, the number of adherents to the Cult boomed to the point where entire population centers worshiped Yhwach. Following Leonardo Fromm ascension as a , he began to declare himself as a Chosen Apostle of , a man personally selected by His majesty to deliver his word and influence to all the Quincy and the lands that they lay claim to. The Cult of Yhwach's power was bolstered even further with the joining of , First of the Sternritter. As the self-proclaimed greatest creation of His majesty and the man closest to God, Lille espoused wholehearted loyalty to Yhwach. Due to the propaganda efforts of Leonardo and Lille, the Cult of Yhwach even spread its influence to the upper echelons of the military such as the , where most if not all of them were fanatical adherents to the Cult. When Yhwach declared the formation of the original Lichtreich over 1000 years ago, it could be said that every citizen was in some way a believer to the Cult. First Quincy Blood War When the call to arms came for the 1st Quincy Blood War and Yhwach began to marshal his forces to invade Soul Society, non-military members of the Cult immediately responded by fanatically pledging themselves to the cause as auxiliary Soldats, eager to prove their devotion to the tenets preached by Leonardo and Lille. While ill-suited to fight competently, their fanaticism and Quincy abilities have whipped them into a frenzy that proved to be more than a match to the ill-prepared and arrogant Shinigami of Soul Society. Their immense numbers and frenzied fighting ultimately allowed them to conquer and maintain control over portions of the for a significant amount of time. In addition to their partial conquest on the Rukongai, scores of Quincy cultists gave their lives to aid the Sternritter and Soldat in fighting the various Shinigami Divisions. Hundreds more would even fall victim to Captain-Commander Shikai. Right before falling into slumber, it was said that and the Minister Apostles Leonardo Fromm and composed the Kaiser Gesang, a Quincy Hymm that prophesied the eventual return of their Quincy King. The Kaiser Gesang subsequently became a common Quincy Hymm sung and adored by the believers within the Cult of Yhwach, as they were often the ones sans the surviving Sternritter who yearned for the return of their God and Divine King. Interim In the wake of the Lichtreich's defeat in the 1st Quincy Blood War, the Cult of Yhwach suffered greatly for their participation. Thousands of followers were presumed to have either perished during the fighting or were lost in the retreat. Many of their Sternritter supporters had also died, drastically reducing their vast influence over the military to marginal at best. When the Lichtreich subsequently collapsed into itself from the power vacuum left in Yhwach's wake and once again fractured into independent Quincy states, so did the Cult. Each of the Quincy states took portions of the Cult of Yhwach with them, which isolated the fractured groups from each other for 1000 years. During those 1000 years, the separated pieces of the Cult would gradually evolve into their own individual sects, which ranged from Temple of the Quincy, Divine Order of the King, Ministry of the Monarch, etc. What remained of the Lichtreich was gradually reorganized by into the current . Under his orders, Jugram had all the Quincy under his command make the perilous journey to the realm of hidden deep within the shadows of the . As that happened, Leonardo and Lille reforged what remained of the Cult into a sect called the Church of the Sleeping King. 1000 years later, Jugram, Lille, and Leonardo witnessed His Divine Majesty, , finally wake up from his long slumber. Second Quincy Blood War Reinhild's Wandenreich Reformation Organization Ranking and Hierarchy The Cult of Yhwach was not considered to be a formal organization within the Wandenreich and was largely considered to be an independent entity. The leadership of the Cult of Yhwach were the Minister Apostles, whose position was both held by its founders, Leonardo Fromm and (prior to his death). Underneath them were the Acolytes, the strongest followers of the Minister Apostles who serve as their proxies and oversee the operations of the Cult. It is the Acolytes who preach to the numerous parishes and congregations. Tenets The tenets preached by Minister Apostles Leonardo Fromm and adhered to the ultimate belief that was God and the Father of Quincy. The religious dogma personally spread by Leonardo was tailored to fit with everyone from all walks of life and could be easily modified to fit preconceived beliefs if desired. The practices of the faithful in the Cult of Yhwach was varied and numerous. In general, believers were given free reign to practice their beliefs as long as it adhered to the core tenets espoused by the Minister Apostles. The core tenets preached by the Minister Apostles and their Acolytes include: *Yhwach is the True God of the Spiritual Realms who walks among the Quincy. *The Quincy are the physical representations of Yhwach's will and it is their duty to uphold the will of God. *The Apostles are one of the many voices of Yhwach and should be followed with absolute obedience. Following betrayal of the Quincy during the latter stages of the 2nd Quincy Blood War, Leonardo added new tenets to the Cult's practices based on his interpretations gathered from His majesty's use of the , which was largely done as an attempt to curtail any further dissidence and to reforge their spiritual beliefs. *The survivors of are the true Faithful and amongst the Chosen. The Quincy who were ultimately killed by the Auswählen were judged as lacking in faith and have been forsaken. Practices Indoctrination Members within the Cult of Yhwach were rumoured to be indoctrinated during the membership process. For those individuals born into the Cult, indoctrination began at birth, and were expected to be fanatical believers well into death. Only significant events, such as 's betrayal of the Wandenreich during the second Quincy Blood War, could break them out of their conditioning and cause a mass crisis of faith amongst the followers. Cloning Artificial Quincy Known Members † standing for deceased *Minister Apostle Leonardo Fromm (Founder & Leader) *Minister Apostle (Founder & Leader) † *Siegrune Wagner (Bodyguard) *Annalise Friss *Richard Ludwig *Harold Gregori Notes Trivia *Despite its immense influence in the Lichtreich/ and the founders being two of the Original , the Cult of Yhwach was largely unrecognized by and was even frowned upon by him. However, Yhwach let the Cult thrive; he saw it as an easy way to control the Quincy and further his agenda. Behind the Scenes *The Cult of Yhwach is described as an Imperial cult, similar to that practiced by Imperial China and Ancient Rome. In this regard, Yhwach is held as Divine King, a term used to describe a monarch held with religious significance by their people as both head of state and deity.